A characterization of Chilean farmers based on their marketproduction orientation PublicDeposited

This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal and can be found at: http://www.rcia.uc.cl/index.php/rcia/index.

Descriptions

Chile’s open trade policy, implemented during the last few decades, has greatly
transformed Chilean farmers and their production systems. As a result, farmers can be grouped
into three categories based on their market-production orientation: domestic, transitional or
export producers. The objective of this paper is to analyze the factors underlying the decision
to produce for a particular market and compare the three groups of farmers based on data from
the 2007 agricultural census. A generalized ordered logit model was used to analyze different
methods of production, and non-parametric methods were used to compare the groups. Results
show that some farmers change categories in sequence; farmers that produce for the domestic
market can later produce for the foreign market and eventually specialize further in the production
of exports. The three types of farmers differ in several aspects. Beyond the indisputable role of
geographic attributes and irrigation in producing exportable species, export-oriented producers
have more modern characteristics than those producing for the internal market: they are more
educated, have access to various financial resources, benefit from state-funded programs, have
better managerial skills and are active users of technology.